Dear Hilton Moms and Dads!

With the Matric Trial Examinations behind us and the beautiful season of Spring ahead of us, the sun seems a little warmer, the days a little longer and in twelve short weeks the school year will be over.

The most recent staff appointment is Paul de Wet who will be Head of Academics from January 2011. Paul matriculated at Hilton College in 1985. After graduating from Natal University with a BSc, he completed his B.Ed.Hons at Stellenbosch; he has taught Mathematics at Alexandra High, St Stithian’s, Hilton and Michaelhouse while also spending a couple of years in business with Barloworld and Toshiba. Paul is a passionate academic who is ideally suited to lead our academic team.

Highlights of the week include the selection of Tim Buckley to attend the South African National Youth Orchestra Course in Stellenbosch later in September. This is a singular honour and congratulations to both Tim and the Music Department on an excellent achievement.

A further highlight is that our Art Department, through the efforts of Debbie Veenstra and Angela Salamon, has secured the Rotary Art Exhibition for our Art Gallery. Paintings and art pieces from all over the province will be on show from today, Monday, with judging taking place on Thursday and the Prize Giving on Saturday 11 September. Our congratulations to the Art Department and best wishes for a successful exhibition.

A coup for our cricketers is that Neil Johnson will be taking up the position of Director of Cricket in January 2011. (This will not be a full-time post.)  He has already made his presence known this term and is proving to be a popular figure amongst our cricketers. The following is an extract from Wikipedia:

“Neil Johnson played 13 Tests and 48 One Day Internationals between 1998 and 2000. An all-rounder, he bowled right arm fast medium and played in the middle order as an aggressive left-handed batsman. He usually opened the batting in One Day cricket.

Johnson was influential in Zimbabwe's qualification to the Super 6 stage of the 1999 World Cup. He won three Man-of-the-Match awards in the tournament. One of those awards came in his side's surprise victory over eventual Semi Finalists South Africa. Opening the batting, he top scored with 76 before dismissing Gary Kirsten with the first ball of the South African chase. He then got rid of Jacques Kallis for a duck and finished with 3 for 27. In the same tournament, he made an unbeaten 132 and took 2/43 against the eventual champions Australia at Lord's. Johnson is notable for having opened both the batting and bowling for his country in this World Cup.”

This news follows closely on the heels that the 5 new indoor cricket nets in the Sports Centre are almost ready for use – this should go a long way to relieving the frustration of having practices cancelled due to rain.

Have a pleasant week and remember that there are only a few tickets left for shows at the Art Festival.

Regards

Gavin Thomson
Headmaster